It was just hours after secret negotiations between Russia and Ukrainian peace negotiators that participants began reporting symptoms of toxic poisoning, including painful tearing, temporary blindness, and skin peeling from their faces.
Roman Abramovich, a Russian billionaire, asked doctors if he was dead after the suspected poisoning.
Boris Volodarsky was once a captain in Russia's special forces and is now an independent intelligence analyst. He is a fellow at the Royal Historical Society in London.
He told Insider that the reports of the poisoning of members of the Ukrainian government delegation boded well for the Kremlin. He claimed that the media attention helped to cause some pity and sympathy for a person close to the Kremlin, and at the same time divert attention from more important political issues of the day.
The life and death of Alexander Orlov is the subject of a book written by Volodarsky. He consulted the British police during their investigation of the murder of Alexander Litvinenko in London in 2006 because he had published numerous scholarly articles on the history of Russian intelligence and Soviet-era poisonings.
He has written about western misconception about Kremlin intelligence, and he has also worked with media outlets to investigate the Skripal poisoning in the UK.
Modern chemical weapons include nerve agents, vesicants, cyanide, pulmonary and riot-control agents that can be placed on the skin. Nerve agents are absorbed by eye contact and inhalation and produce rapid, systemic effects.
Insider spoke to Volodarsky about the methods of Russian intelligence services, including their use of poisons.
Russia has been caught using nerve agents banned by the Chemical Weapons Convention in several recent cases. The radioactive poison used in the Litvinenko case was very unusual. How do you explain the tactics to the people?
Attempts to eliminate enemies of the Kremlin abroad never stopped fascinating Soviet and Russian leaders from being. Delayed action and deniability are two basic principles behind the use of poisons. In order to remain covert, such operations must be planned and executed in a way that the identity of the agency who carried out the operation as well as that of the government behind it remains unknown. It worked well in recent cases, including the poisoning of Navalny where the Russian leaders categorically deny their involvement.
Do you think they will try to kill Navalny again?
This can not be excluded in today's situation. The regime may want to get rid of him.
The main security agency in Russia is the Federal Security Service, also known as the FSB. How much of a role would Putin play in eliminating a foe, and what role would the FSB play?
The Kremlin has authorized several Russian secret agencies to operate abroad. In cases inside the former Soviet Union, the FSB will be involved in order to act in accord with the friendly local services. They don't get involved in operations in Great Britain and the United States. When we talk about prominent international figures like Anna Politkovskaya, Boris Berezovsky, Boris Nemtsov, or Alexey Navalny, Putin's personal sanction is required. His personal enemies are the same as his personal enemies. In all other cases, he is informed by the presidential administration. His consent is required for a terminated operation. There are several secret units in Russia that are capable of carrying out assassinations or terrorist acts abroad. The Chechen leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, may allow them to hire former officers, contract killers, or amateur operators.
If Putin was involved in the poisoning of the Ukrainian negotiators, what effect would it have?
Putin was not involved, but he may have been informed afterwards. The effect of the poisoning of the Russian Prime Minister in Dublin was to distract attention, like in other similar cases.
In the Gaidar operation, the world media stopped writing about Litvinenko, an object of unprecedented attention to newspapers, television channels, and information agencies from Washington to Cape Town, and focused their attention on a more prominent political figure. He is not a political figure and even not part of any negotiation team, but he is known for his former big yacht, former beautiful girlfriend, and former British football team. The effect was reached because even Insider is still asking questions and writing about it.
Do you think Russia will try to use chemical weapons or WMD in Ukraine?
Putin is mentally unstable and acts illogically. We may conclude that he isn't properly informed. He has destroyed his own country's economy, finances, and everyday lives, which is worse than any NATO attack, because he has destroyed the trust of his citizens. The world knows what Putin, Shoigu, Patrushev, and General Gerasimov did in Ukraine, so the Nuremberg Tribunal is waiting for them. In their last convulsions, they do not come to the idea of using WMD against any other country like Poland, for example.
Is Putin more brazen in using nerve agents against his opponents?
Putin is no morebrazen than Stalin and Lenin in eliminating his enemies, even though they have considered and still consider enemies of the Kremlin. They think that they are enemies of the Russian people. Stalin is the only person in history who can be compared to him. What is the poisoning of a person important in comparison to the daily killings of soldiers, civilians, and children in the war?
Which of the Russian army and Russian secret services are to blame for the strategic and tactical mistakes in this war?
The National Security Council and its members are responsible for the mad decision. The Fifth Service of the FSB, which is in charge of the covert operation in Ukraine, and the GU of the army headquarters, who are responsible for providing reliable intelligence before any action is taken, are the next level of responsibility. Since Putin came to power in 2000, all the people who surround him are drunk, corrupt, and imbecile. Those who left the country a long time ago are the ones who are not.
What do you think is missing from our coverage?
Western media should speak to the experts more often, including Russian experts, like economist Sergey Guriev, former KGB officer in Washington station Yuri Shvets, and Bellingcat researcher Christo Grozev. It makes no sense to question the so-called politologists, journalists, and opposition figures. The former staff of the TV Rain should be used by the Western media to present their programs.
How long do you think he has done this for Putin's regime? Is the regime going to turn on him too?
The war in Ukraine seems to be a new role forAbramovich. I don't think Putin and his associates can turn on him because he has a lot of hidden treasures.
Do you think the Ukrainian negotiators are at risk of a more serious attack?
President Zelenskyy and his family are in a real danger of attack and are members of the Ukrainian presidential administration.
How should the international community respond to the war in Ukraine?
There is no recipe for how the international community should respond to crimes against humanity. There is no doubt that where there is a crime, punishment is inevitable.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
